"THE AMAZING RACE 10" CROSSES THE FINISH LINE WITH DOUBLE DIGIT PERCENTAGE INCREASES IN ALL KEY MEASURES OVER "THE AMAZING RACE 9" FINALE

"The Amazing Race" Delivers This Edition's Best Performance in Viewers and Households

THE AMAZING RACE 10, with best friends Tyler and James first to cross the finish line, posted double-digit percentage increases over last spring's finale of "The Amazing Race 9," according to preliminary Nielsen Live Plus same-day ratings for Sunday, Dec. 10.

Editors Note: Due to late running football in most East Coast and Central time zone markets, ratings are tentative and subject to change.

At 8:30 PM, THE AMAZING RACE 10 finale (8.0/12, 12.90m) delivered a 5.0/11 in adults 25-54 and 4.0/09 in adults 18-49. If the ratings hold, this is the best delivery for any edition of THE AMAZING RACE 10 in households and viewers and matches the second best performance in both adults 18-49 and adults 25-54.

Last May, CBS’s “Amazing Race” finale aired in one of the toughest timeslots on television, its final hour competing with Fox’s “American Idol” and ABC’s “Lost,” both of them big hits. The season-ender didn’t do so hot, averaging a 3.4.

Last night, having moved from Wednesday to Sunday at 8 p.m. this season, the 10th edition of “Race” saw a nice boost for its finale. It averaged a 4.0 in adults 18-49, according to Nielsen overnights, up 18 percent over last year and boosting its season average after two straight seasons of decline.

Through the penultimate episode, “Race” had been averaging a 3.8, 9 percent ahead of season nine’s 3.5 average last year, when it bounced from Tuesday to Wednesday and never really built much steam. The fall 2005 edition of “Race” averaged a 4.3, also down from the spring before.

Certainly a more consistent timeslot, Sundays at 8 p.m., where the competition isn’t as killer as it was for the two-hour finale last year, helped push up this year’s numbers. Though it faced “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on ABC, “Race” got a nice lead-in from “60 Minutes,” where the football crowd often lingered after CBS’s late NFL games. Many also stayed around for “Race.”

CBS has decided that the next edition of “Race” will be an all-star game, with couples like Rob and Amber returning. All-stars usually signal a franchise in need of help, and the season finale bump is a promising first step.

Meanwhile, football led NBC to a first-place finish for the night among viewers 18-49 with a 6.2 average rating and a 15 share. ABC finished second at 4.3/11, CBS third at 4.0/10, Fox fourth at 3.1/8, Univision fifth at 1.4/3 and CW sixth at 1.2/3.

As a reminder, fast nationals measure timeslot and not actual program performance. CBS and NBC both aired football last night, which bled into other timeslots, therefore their numbers may adjust significantly when final ratings come out tomorrow.

CBS took the 7 p.m. hour with a 4.5 rating for “60 Minutes.” NBC was second that hour with a 3.1 for “Football Night in America,” ABC third with a 2.8 for “America’s Funniest Home Videos” and Fox third with a 2.2 average for repeats of “American Dad” (1.9) and “The Simpsons” (2.5). CW and Univision tied for fifth that hour at 1.2, CW for an hour of “Reba” and Univision for the first hour of its four-hour special “Aun Hay Mas: Homenaje a Raul Velasco.”

NBC took the lead for good during the 8 p.m. hour with a 6.4 average for NFL pregame and the first 45 minutes of its game between the Cowboys and Saints. ABC was second with a 4.2 for its first hour of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” CBS third with a 4.0 for “Race” and Fox fourth with a 3.7 for “Simpsons” (4.1) and “Dad” (3.3). CW came in fifth with a 1.5 for “7th Heaven” and Univision sixth with a 1.3 for its second hour of “Velasco.”

At 9 p.m., NBC led again, building to a 7.8 rating among 18-49s for football. ABC closed the gap with a 6.3 for its second hour of “Home Edition,” with CBS third with a 3.7 for “Cold Case,” Fox fourth with a 3.4 for an hour of “Family Guy” repeats, Univision fifth with a 1.7 for another hour of “Velasco,” and CW sixth with a 0.9 for a repeat of “America’s Next Top Model.”

At 10 p.m., NBC led once again, this time with a 7.4 rating for football. ABC was second with a 4.0 for “Brothers & Sisters,” CBS third with a 3.8 for “Without a Trace” and Univision fourth with a 1.5 for the last hour of “Velasco.”

NBC also finished first for the night among households, averaging a 10.0 rating and a 16 share. CBS was second at 9.3/14, ABC third at 7.5/12, Fox fourth at 4.0/6, CW fifth at 2.3/3 and Univision sixth at 1.9/3.

CBS IN THE WINNER'S CIRCLE FOR THE 12TH CONSECUTIVE WEEKReleased by CBS [NOTE: The following article is a press release issued by the aforementioned network and/or company. Any errors, typos, etc. are attributed to the original author. The release is reproduced solely for the dissemination of the enclosed information.]

CBS Has Six of the Top 10 and 13 of Top 20 Programs of the Week in Viewers Including "CSI," Which Also Ranks First in Adults 25-54 and First Among Scripted Programs in Adults 18-49

"Frosty the Snowman" Is The Week's Number One Program Among Kids 2-11, Followed by "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Frosty Returns"

"The King of Queens" Returns in Time Period Winning Fashion

The Finale of "The Amazing Race 10" Crosses the Finish Line with Its Best Viewer Delivery Since the Finale of "The Amazing Race 7" in May 2005 and Tops Last Spring's Finale of "The Amazing Race 9" By Double Digits in all Key Measures

A Rebroadcast of "Criminal Minds" Outperforms Its Original Broadcast

"Survivor: Cook Islands" Delivers Its Largest Audience Since October

CBS placed first in viewers for the 12th consecutive week of the season and first in adults 25-54 (tie) for the 11th time as the Network had six of the week's top 10 programs and 13 of the top 20, according to Nielsen live plus same day ratings for the week ending Dec. 10, week 12 of the 2006-2007 television season.

In addition, CBS also had the top three programs among kids 2-11, led by FROSTY THE SNOWMAN, RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER and FROSTY RETURNS.

For the week in key demographics, CBS was first in adults 25-54 (tie, NBC) for the 11th time in 12 weeks and second in adults 18-49. Season-to-date, CBS is first in adults 25-54 and second in adults 18-49 (-0.1 behind ABC).

For the week in households, CBS (7.5/12) had a +14% advantage over NBC (6.6/11), +42% over ABC (5.3/09) and +92% over FOX (3.9/06). Season-to-date, CBS is first in households (8.2/13), outpacing ABC by +11% (7.4/12), NBC by +22% (6.7/11) and FOX by +58% (5.2/08).

CBS WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS:

? The ninth season premiere of THE KING OF QUEENS (P) won its time period in households (6.2/10), viewers (9.42m), adults 25-54 (3.9/10) and adults 18-49 (3.2/09). THE KING OF QUEENS SPECIAL (S) won its time period in households (6.6/10), viewers (10.17m), adults 25-54 (4.3/11) and adults 18-49 (3.6/10).

? CRIMINAL MINDS (R) was first at 9PM in households (9.0/14), viewers (13.85m), adults 25-54 (5.0/12) and second in adults 18-49 (3.9/10, -0.1 behind NBC). This is CRIMINAL MINDS's best delivery with a rebroadcast in households, viewers, adults 18-49 and matches the best delivery in adults 25-54. Compared to this episode's original broadcast (5/3/06), CRIMINAL MINDS was up +11% each in households (from 8.1/12), adults 25-54 (from 4.5/10) and adults 18-49 (from 3.5/08), +19% in adults 18-34 (2.5/07 from 2.1/06) and added +1.66m viewers (from 12.19m, +14%).

? SURVIVOR: COOK ISLANDS won its time slot in households (9.5/15), viewers (15.72m), adults 25-54 (6.6/15) and adults 18-49 (5.3/15). This is SURVIVOR: COOK ISLANDS's best viewer delivery since October 5, 2006.

? FROSTY THE SNOWMAN (R) (S) (9:02-9:33 PM) was first in viewers (12.70m), adults 25-54 (4.7/13), adults 18-49 (4.5/13), adults 18-34 (3.3/12), children 2-11 (8.9/26) and second in households (6.2/11). FROSTY THE SNOWMAN is the #1 program of the week among children 2-11.

? FROSTY RETURNS (R) (S) (9:34-10:03 PM) was first in viewers (10.66m), adults 25-54 (3.7/10), adults 18-49 (3.5/10), adults 18-34 (2.7/09), children 2-11 (7.8/24) and third in households (5.3/09, -0.2 behind ABC). FROSTY RETURNS is tied as the #2 program (with "Rudolph") of the week among children 2-11.

? THE AMAZING RACE 10 (8:28-9:28 PM), with its season finale, posted its best delivery in households (7.7/11) and viewers (12.73m) since May 10, 2005 ("The Amazing Race 7" season finale), best adults 25-54 (5.2/11) delivery since Dec. 13, 2005 ("The Amazing Race 8's season finale) and matches the best delivery this season in adults 18-49 (4.1/09). Compared to the finale of "The Amazing Race 9" (5/17/06 from 8:00-10:00PM), THE AMAZING RACE 10 finale was up +51% in households (from 5.3/08), +30% in adults 25-54 (from 4.0/10), +21% in both adults 18-49 (from 3.4/09) and adults 18-34 (2.9/08 from 2.4/07) and added +3.74m viewers (from 8.99m, +42%).